Privacy in the Legislative Branch: A Quick Update
Just as privacy remains front page news ("Web's Hot New Commodity: Privacy", Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2011), it remains a subject of bi-partisan interest on Capitol Hill.
Congressional demands for information from companies following news stories about privacy now are routine. E.g. "Markey, Barton Ask Facebook About Plan to Enable Access to Addresses, Mobile Numbers" (February 2, 2011).
On the Senate side, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has created a first-ever Sub-Committee on Privacy, Technology and the Law within the Judiciary Committee and has appointed Senator Al Franken (D-MN) subcommittee chair. The committee's mandate includes
oversight of laws and policies governing
- the collection, protection, use, and dissemination of commercial information by the private sector, including online behavioral advertising;
- privacy within social networking websites and other online privacy issues;
- enforcement and implementation of commercial information privacy laws and policies;
- use of technology by the private sector to protect privacy, enhance transparency and encourage innovation; privacy standards for the collection, retention, use and dissemination of personally identifiable commercial information;
- and privacy implications of new or emerging technologies.
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is expected to introduce a comprehensive privacy regulatory bill that may include FTC rulemaking authority with a specific mandate regarding opt-in and opt-out consent for the online collection of personal information. The legislation has been rumored for months, but has yet to be introduced, perhaps owing to the need for coordination between the two committees that now have jurisdiction over privacy issues in the Senate, the Commerce and Judiciary Committees. Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has expressed a strong interest in seeing increased legal protections for privacy.
On the House side, four major privacy bills have been introduced this year with more likely to come:
Continue Reading...